Poyet buoyed by Black Cats revival

31 December 2013 01:31

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Sunderland boss Gus Poyet will welcome Aston Villa to Wearside with a smile on his face after four points over Christmas dramatically improved his mood.

The 46-year-old Uruguayan freely admits he is not the best person to be around when the Black Cats are losing games, and a shock victory at high-flying Everton on Boxing Day, following by a last-gasp draw at Cardiff 48 hours later proved the perfect tonic.

Poyet's men remain at the foot of the Barclays Premier League table, but are now only two points adrift of safety, and while that may only represent a start, it is a source of contentment.

Asked if it was currently easier to come to work, he said: "Yes. I am a normal person, yes. I am a bad loser, I have said many times, so when we lose, I am not a nice person to be around.

"But it's the opposite now. I try to be realistic as well, but sometimes football is so good for me, I like it so much that you get so much involved, you forget about the rest of life, family, health and everything in the world.

"But that lasts for a day or so. After that, we recover."

Sunderland's plight remains parlous - they took just 14 points from their first 19 league games and need to improve upon that significantly over the second half of the season if they are to retain their top-flight status.

However, 13 of those points have come from Poyet's 12 games at the helm, and while that ratio will have to increase substantially, a friendlier fixture list, which sees them lock horns with Villa, Fulham and Stoke in January, gives them an opportunity.

Poyet said: "A few weeks or a few months ago, people were looking at the table and thinking it was impossible, and now we are there, so we have to make sure we don't stop and don't get complacent because we have done nothing.

"Of course, we have done something important, but in reality it's nothing because it's all about what is coming next."

Poyet launched his reign with a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Swansea on October 19, and he could have been forgiven for contemplating a repeat on his return to South Wales on Saturday when his side trailed 2-0 to Cardiff.

However, a remarkable conclusion to the game saw substitutes Steven Fletcher and Jack Colback score to snatch a draw and confirm the manager's belief that his master plan is working.

He said: "What I am seeing is that, even if we are having a bad spell during the game, we are going to have the other side of the coin and we are going to have a good spell, and if in that spell we take advantage and we score, we are going to be in a position to win games.

"And it works the other way around. When you are not having your best time, make sure you don't lose the whole game and concede three or four, so it's a balance.

"Would I like more control for the whole game? Yes, but the games where we have had control, especially West Ham, we didn't score, so that's football.

"You need to analyse how it is, but not go too deep because you know you become crazy."

Central defender Wes Brown will miss out once again as he completes his three-match ban, while partner John O'Shea remains a doubt with the shoulder injury which kept him out of both games over the festive period.

Striker Fabio Borini, who was taken to hospital suffering from the after-effects of a virus during the game at Cardiff, has undergone tests to confirm there is no lasting problem and is rated at 50-50, while midfielder Adam Johnson is battling to shake off his own bout of illness.